The present invention relates to a glove employed for playing baseball, particularly for batting, and more specifically, it relates to a glove capable of enabling the wearer to firmly grip a bat and protecting the wearer""s hand against a shock in batting.
In recent years, a baseball player generally grips a bat and wears a baseball glove or mitt not with a bare hand but with a glove.
This is in order to prevent slipping between the hand and the bat and improve fittingness between the bat and the hand when the baseball player grips the bat. Similarly, the baseball player employs the glove also when wearing the baseball glove or mitt in order to improve fittingness between the baseball glove or mitt and his hand.
In such a glove, elastic cloth may be applied to a required part of a back portion for making the back portion expandable so that the wearer can readily grip a bat.
Further, a leather pad may be applied to a palm portion of the glove for reinforcing the body of the glove while enabling the wearer to firmly grip a bat and relaxing a shock in batting.
However, a conventional glove is still insufficient in consideration of fittingness between the glove and a bat and protection of the wearer""s hand against a shock in batting.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,934 discloses a baseball glove having a gap member stuck to a palm portion thereof in order to fill up a gap defined between the glove and the grip of a bat when the wearer of the glove holds the grip of the bat.
However, the gap member is merely stuck to the palm portion of the baseball glove and the shape of the gap member, the position for sticking the gap member etc. are left out of consideration in this glove, which is still insufficient in fittingness and shock absorbability.
Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 63-176477 discloses a grip-reforming golf glove formed by sticking or sewing an engager of a different material between a thumb holder and an index finger holder. This golf glove, invented on the basis of such an idea that the thumb and the index finger of a golfer are preferably in close contact with each other on the swing, is provided with a V-shaped engager between the thumb holder and the index finger holder in order to prevent the thumb and the index finger from separating from each other.
With such a structure, therefore, the wearer cannot grip a baseball bat and no shock absorbing function can be expected in batting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,043 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,454 discloses not a glove for baseball but an invention for absorbing a shock in batting and protecting the hand of the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,043 describes an auxiliary member consisting of a cushion member of foamed plastic for receiving the thumb of the wearer in batting. In other words, this auxiliary member is located on the base between the thumb and the index finger of the wearer in batting for receiving the grip of a bat on the auxiliary member and absorbing a shock in batting.
In this invention, however, the auxiliary member rotates about the thumb and hence the wearer must rearrange the auxiliary member on the base between the thumb and the index finger every time he re-grips the bat. Further, the auxiliary member is so small that the same is sometimes dropped and lost during a baseball game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,454 describes an auxiliary member more improved in fittingness between the hand of the wearer and the grip of a bat as compared with U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,043, while the wearer must arrange this auxiliary member on the base between the thumb and the index finger of his hand every time he re-grips the bat and the auxiliary member may be dropped and lost during a baseball game.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a glove of more effectively filling up a gap defined between the glove and the grip of a baseball bat when the wearer grips the baseball bat as compared with the prior art, enabling the wearer to readily grip the bat and improving fittingness between the hand of the wearer and the bat.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a baseball glove capable of absorbing a shock caused by a ball colliding with a bat in batting and protecting the hand of the wearer.
The glove for baseball according to the present invention comprises a thumb holder or stall (11), an index finger holder or stall (12), a palm portion (14) and a back portion (15). A protective member (2) is mounted on or attached to a base or stump portion (13) between the thumb holder (11) and the index finger holder (12). The protective member (2) includes a bent portion (21) extending from the base portion (13) toward the palm portion (14) and bent along the base portion (13) and a flat or a plate-like portion (22) extending from the base portion (13) toward the back portion (15) and has a substantially L-shaped section.
According to the present invention, the protective member (2) is mounted on the base portion (13) between the thumb holder (11) and the index finger holder (12) and the protective member (2) is shaped in the aforementioned manner, whereby the glove (1) and the grip of a baseball bat (7) tightly fit with each other when the wearer holds the grip of the baseball bat (7) with the inventive glove (1).
The wearer hardly feels misfitness with respect to the protective member (2) when inserting his hand into the glove (1) or holding the grip of the baseball bat with the glove (1).
Further, a shock applied to the hand of the wearer in hitting can be absorbed by properly selecting the thickness of the protective member (2) and the material employed therefor.
The thickness of the protective member (2) is preferably largest at a central portion (25) of the bent portion (21) on a position corresponding to a corner (27) of the L-shaped section and reduced toward a peripheral portion (28).
Thus, the aforementioned fittingness can be improved by increasing the thickness of the protective member (2) at the central portion (25) of the bent portion (21).
The protective member (2) extends from a portion on the base of the thumb holder (11) to a portion on the base of the index finger holder (12).
Thus, fittingness between the baseball glove (1) and the grip of the baseball bat (7) can be further improved.
The central portion (25) of the bent portion (21) in a direction along the base portion (13) preferably has a shape along the outer periphery of the grip of the baseball bat (7).
Thus, the grip of the baseball bat (7) can be received in the central portion of the protective member (2). This can also effectively contribute to improvement of the aforementioned fittingness.
The central portion (25) of the bent portion (21) in the direction along the base portion (13) preferably has a radius of curvature substantially identical to the outer diameter of the grip of the baseball bat (7), and the radius of curvature of the bent portion (21) preferably increases toward an end (26) of the bent portion (21) in the direction along the base portion (13).
When the bent portion (21) is thus shaped to spread toward the forward ends of the thumb holder (11) and the index finger holder (12), not only the grip of the baseball bat (7) can be readily received but also the wearer can readily insert his hand into the glove (1). When the thickness of the end (26) is reduced, further, the wearer can hold the grip of the baseball bat (7) with small power.
The protective member (2) has a corner (27) on the base portion (13), the corner (27) is bent along the base portion (13), and the thickness of the corner (27) is lager than the thickness of the peripheral portion (28) of the protective member (2).
When the thickness of the corner (27) of the protective member (2) is thus increased, a shock applied to the hand of the wearer in hitting can be absorbed and the hand can be protected. The aforementioned corner (27) indicates a bent portion, and the surface thereof may be rounded as shown in FIG. 4 or the like, for example.
A leather pad may be sewn to cover the surface of the protective member (2).
Thus, the protective member (2) can be inhibited from coming off from the glove (1).
A shock absorbing member (4) may be held between the protective member (2) and the body of the glove.
Thus, a shock applied to the hand of the wearer in hitting can be further absorbed.
The glove (1) is mainly prepared from artificial leather or natural a leather, with employment of elastic cloth at need. The protective member a (2) is sewn on or/and stuck to the glove (1).
Thus, the protective member (2) is sewn on or/and stuck to the glove (1) according to the present invention, whereby an auxiliary member is not lost in the middle of a baseball game dissimilarly to U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,043 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,454.
In batting, the wearer may not rearrange any auxiliary member on the base between the thumb and the index finger every time he re-holds the grip of the baseball bat (7).
The glove (1) according to the present invention does not inhibit motion of the hand of the wearer not only in batting but also in fielding.
In other words, the wearer can smoothly insert his hand into a baseball glove or mitt in the state wearing the glove (1) since the shape of the protective member (2) matches with the shape of the base between the thumb and the index finger of the wearer. When the wearer closes the baseball glove or mitt, the protective member (2) is bent similarly to the action of holding the grip of the baseball bat (7), not to stretch and inhibit the wearer from closing the baseball glove or mitt.